What price are we willing to put on a winning smile? Your smile is one of the first things people notice about you, so having a great looking set of teeth is key to having that feel-good factor and giving you confidence. But if you’re faced with tooth loss for any reason, the cost of dental implants might put you off, but their benefits will pay you handsomely in return.
Your treatment options
When you experience tooth loss, whether it’s immediate through accident or trauma, or over time as a result of disease, the impact it can have on your everyday life can be great. While you may just get on with it, the lack of a full set of teeth can take its toll in the long term, both mentally and physically.
But just ‘getting on with it’ shouldn’t be an option. Even putting off treatment in the short term can have a negative effect on your health and well-being in different ways. You could suffer due to the lack of nutrition in your diet as it becomes more difficult to eat certain food stuffs or even chew properly. Even your facial structure could change.
More than this though, you could suffer from low self-esteem and your confidence could take a big blow. Where you might have had a good, healthy set of teeth and a great smile, the effects of tooth loss could leave you feeling self-conscious, shy or even embarrassed.
But there’s no need to panic. When you’re faced with tooth loss and looking into ways to replace them, the treatment options open to you are plenty.
A long term answer
Many people in this situation opt for removable dentures as the best way to regain a full set of teeth. Partial or full dentures are far and away the most popular option thanks to their relative ease of fitting. They’re also one of the least expensive treatments too. However, that doesn’t always mean it’s the best option as a denture is very rarely for life.
For a comfortable fit, dentures need to work with your gums, as well as the roof of your mouth for a top set. The bone in your jaw and your gums will begin to change over time, becoming flatter as they’re no longer being used to support your teeth. This means that dentures that once fitted incredibly well will gradually become looser, potentially causing pain and discomfort as they rub against your gums.
Though you can get new dentures to fit the changes in your mouth, the underlying problem will always be there and it won’t be long before you’ll need yet another set. With dentures usually lasting anywhere between 3 to 8 years, getting replacements can be an expensive and timely exercise. Then of course they could get damaged or even lost as well
For a long-term answer to dental health and hygiene, dental implants fitted right here in our Exeter dental practice could be your ticket to great teeth for life!
Just like the real thing
As a tooth replacement, a dental implant is as close to a real set of teeth as you can get. However, the procedure to getting your smile for life will come at a cost and might not appeal to the squeamish, due to the sometimes painful and lengthy process it requires. But, good things come to those that wait as the saying goes. So what’s really involved?
Dental implants are more than just false teeth. Consisting of an titanium alloy post (like a new tooth root), together with a tooth crown made from porcelain, dental implants are surgically implanted into your jaw to give you a permanent new tooth that look and feel like the real thing.
During an initial consultation at our dental practice in Exeter, we’ll take a set of x-rays to tell us the extent of the dental implants required. Then, under local anaesthetic, the implant surgery can take place. Healing time of around 3 months is then given to allow the titanium implant to fuse properly with the jaw bone. Finally, moulds of your teeth and gums are made so the new crowns can be fitted around 2 weeks later.
A smile for life
The whole process can take the cost of dental implants well over 3 figures, so can be a daunting prospect financially. However, this cost will be more than offset by the improvement in your overall health and general well-being. Your self-confidence and self-esteem will sky rocket as you show off your new smile, knowing that it could be with you for the rest of your life.
So while dental implants may not be the cheapest way to replace any lost teeth, what price can you put on a winning smile and all it gives you?
For more information visit us at www.lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk and learn more about how dental implants from Life Dental & Well-Being can improve your life in more ways than one.
